Guidelines for the guests attending the Jalsa Salana UK

NOTE: Alislam Team takes full responsibility for any errors or miscommunication in this Synopsis of the Friday Sermon

In the Friday sermon today, Huzoor gave a few guidelines for the guests attending the Jalsa Salana UK along with some last minute advice to the volunteers on duty. Huzoor also remarked that the weather in the UK has been quite severe for the past few days, with heavy rainfall, which has caused inconvenience to the organizers as well as the guests arriving for Jalsa Salana. He prayed that the weather conditions should not deter the guests nor the residents of UK from attending the Jalsa Salana, which is an institution that was inaugurated by the Promised Messiah himself under Divine Guidance in order for people to elevate their spirituality. He narrated a few examples where people have braved severe weather conditions to attend Jalsa Salana in Rabwah, Qadian, Ghana and Tanzania. He repeatedly prayed for all the guests and organizers attending the Jalsa that may Allah bestow His special favors on this auspicious occasion and protect everyone from all harm, Ameen.

Huzoor also gave advice to the guests who are attending this Jalsa Salana as well as the hosts to treat one another with mutual respect and love. Huzoor quoted the following Hadith, where the Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said, "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, should serve his guest generously. The guest's reward is: to provide him with a superior type of food for a night and a day and a guest is to be entertained with food for three days, and whatever is offered beyond that, is regarded as something given in charity. And it is not lawful for a guest to stay with his host for such a long period so as to put him in a critical position." (Bukhari)

A host should be mindful of their guests and treat them kindheartedly. They should not offend them with any harsh words and provide the best that they can for them in terms of accommodation, dining, hospitality, etc. Similarly, the guests should not become a burden on the hosts and try to make their trip as short as possible and return to their homelands within reasonable time after attending the Jalsa.

Huzoor reminded all those who are attending the Jalsa Salana from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh or from any other country that if they were granted visa for UK to attend the Jalsa Salana, then they must not seek asylum in UK or in any other European country as this is a breech of trust with the authorities that have granted the visa. Such an undertaking blemishes the Jama’at’s repute and also creates difficulties for those who wish to attend the Jalsa Salana in the coming years, as they are not granted visas.

Huzoor reiterated that one of the objectives of holding the Jalsa is to inculcate Islamic values amongst us; therefore the use of saying “Assalam-o-Alaikum” should be extensive during these days. He emphasized the importance of this Islamic salutation by quoting a Hadith and reminded every Ahmadi in attendance of this Jalsa Salana to utilize this occasion to proliferate the usage of Salam.

Huzoor also reminded all Jalsa attendees to pay special attention to safeguarding their Salat (Farz) and Nawafil prayers and not to overindulge in social gatherings with their relatives to the extent that it affects the offering of their Salat, as one of the benefits of the Jalsa is to gain special blessings by observing prayers.

In the last part of the sermon, Huzoor directed the attention of the audience towards two very important organizational aspects of the Jalsa Salana, namely parking facilities and security. For parking, he reminded everyone to use the parking facility that has been made available at a short distance from the Jalsa Gah and to fully cooperate with the volunteers and use the shuttle service. Last year, the police and the neighbors were highly impressed with the discipline that was displayed during the Jalsa days with regards to traffic control; this year, we should try to outdo our previous performance and maintain this good impression.

In terms of security, Huzoor said that everyone attending the Jalsa should keep an eye around and if they suspect anyone, they should not take it upon themselves to deal with such a person, but they should promptly report to the staff on duty for security and in the meanwhile, keep an eye on that suspicious person. He also reminded the volunteers on duty to deal with people politely at all time. He also enjoined the Lajna to cooperate with the security staff and not to be offended if they are asked to clear the security measures. He instructed everyone to display their ID badges at all times for safety reasons.

Huzoor closed the sermon by reminding everyone to pray for themselves and for those they have left behind in their homes, and he read the following passage from the writings of the Promised Messiah.

I pray to God that He may be with all those who are coming to attend this Jalsa for the sake of Allah that He may grant them great rewards and He may show mercy to them and He may remove their hardships and sorrows; may He let them have what they desire and raise them up on the Day of Resurrection along with those to whom He has shown mercy and His grace and be the protector of all in their absence till the completion of the journey. O God! O You who are the Great Granter, the Benevolent and Merciful, and Remover of hardships, do listen to all these prayers of mine and grant us victory over our opponents, with great and grand signs, for, You have the power to do whatever You like. Aameen, Aameen once again. (Ishteharat, Vol.1 p.342)